Catalyst
by Stolengenre
Summary: All that is need to ensure a change in the ending of a story is a person or a thing that precipitates an event, most likely the result of which will be widely disasterous but on the off sure chance 1/10 times you will get something truly magical. Naruto Uzumaki is ready to change the world, however so do many others, so do many others. Darkish Grey Naruto, Pairings up to readers.
1. Chapter 1

One event can change a whole world. Changing the outcome of one single day can evolve and be a catalyst for a much more dangerous path.

I believe...

You're thoughts, even your words, expressions and ideals are the real, and they take form and manifest themselves into what becomes your reality. When you're single and only thought at a point is survival through sheer power of will you can manifest that reality into life. To live is the rarest thing of them all, most people just exist but he refused to be just another one of those people, he would not be another part in a sad story. He and only he would define his own destiny and where he ends up after that point. If you win, you live. If you lose, you die. If you don't fight, you can't win! He saw the sword descend upon him, this was going to be his death... he had accepted that fact, not that he could move his body anyway how was he going to survive?  
><em>Electricity jolted throughout his body<em>

_The blade got closer_

_Jolt_

_Jolt_

_Jolt_

_Jolt_

'If you win, you live. If you lose, you die. If you don't fight, you can't win!'

With that final thought running through his head, he flashed into action. His hand quickly scrambled at the floor looking for everything, looking for anything. It turned into a fist he threw it forward, dirt surely followed. A dirty tactic but his survival depended on it, he reached for his kunai as his assailant scrambled. Grasping it tightly in his hand, he lunged forward.

Stab, Stab, Stab his hand were in a flurry as tears rolled down his face there he was sitting on top of the body repeatedly thrusting his kunai into the body of his attacker, stab after stab. He stopped rested his head on the body as tears flew, starting slowly before breaking forth in flooding down his faces. He looked at the sky as survival turned to rage, he screamed. Why was the world so cruel, why was the world so merciless. In response the first drops of rain started falling, did the world regret the event it has caused today? No one would ever know the answer but as his surrounding fell silent all that could be heard being carried by the wind was the sobs of a man who had just been forced to kill his best friend.

He heard a cough as he looked into the eyes of the man who had tried to kill him, he saw the eyes dull as life quickly faded the rest of his life would be burdened by the words last spoken.

"I w-wish, I had the strength to have ended y-our life" he forced out and the last remaining light faded from his eyes, he had truly passed away.

He looked upon the heavens still screaming, his own eyes spun changing shape, responding in glee to the event that had just taken place. He had achieved the next level of Sharigan at the cost of his best friend's life.

Shisui Uchiha had killed his best friend, Itachi Uchiha was no more.

"Oh Shisui the meeting has already ended why are you here" Fugaku asked looking over the boy, that when he noticed the blood.

"S-Shisui what happened? Where's Itachi" he asked fearing the worst, just what could have happened to put Shisui in a state like this, he pondered but as he looked into Shisui's eyes the truth became almost clear the distraught, the pain and sheer horror that graced his faith almost in itself answered for Shisui

"I-Ita Itac-" he stuttered he was still trying to wrap his head around what had just happened.

"Shisui what's wrong with my son, ANSWER ME DAMMIT" he spoke growing visibly angry, he could taste it. As a matter of fact he already knew but he knew he would have to hear the words, to hear the words and allow them to harden his heart.

"I-Itachi has betrayed the clan" those words literally broke Fugaku's heart, he had started to have growing suspicions of his son as of late. Noticing the change in attitude of his son was all but simple, after all no matter what anyone might say, Itachi was his first born he had high hopes for him and no change would occur unnoticed. It began slowly small insubordination that betrayed that the love for his village was now starting to overtake the love for the clan. The coldness he had started displaying to his family had pointed Fugaku to this conclusion however up until this point he did not want to accept it but everything was clear to Fugaku now. Konoha had brainwashed his son, making him hate his own family.

"I see" he said seconds flew by, turning into minutes. Shisui couldn't find his own voice so he let the older Uchiha think, let him digest the fact that his favourite son was now dead and he was the one that delivered the blow. As Shisui watched he watched a Fathers eyes turn dim and true hatred form underneath, some might no notice the change but his son death was truly a catalyst for the creation of a monster.

"I-I'm S-sorry Fugaku, he just came af-" Shisui attempted to explain, it was at that moment Shisui was truly scared. Was this anger going to be turned to him?

"There is no need for explanation, I should have seen this coming. Damn you KONOHA" he shouted on top of his voice unable to control his anger at this point

"What do we do now? Do we cancel our plans" Shisui questioned

"No. It is now a bigger necessity for us to do this than it was before" he said "Gather every Uchiha here quickly, Konoha falls tonight!"

There four sat their lives bonded together by an everlasting bond forged through war, each of them changed harshly by the war, each of them knowing the true meaning off loss and sadness. Danzo Shimura, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane all of them sat in an awkward silence as the pressure built in the room, things weren't going to plan. Itachi should have reported back by now or at least signal them after doing a grave deed, if unable they still should have received news due to their Anbu discovering what had happened and reporting immediately. Things were very wrong indeed, had the Anbu not yet discovered the seen which in this case was bad for village security. A whole clan gets massacred and still no word of report or could Itachi have failed to kill Shisui? Could Shisui have triumphed over Itachi, such a task seemed impossible?

Itachi since he was a child was always renowed as being the most gifted Uchiha of his time, just how could he have been beaten, if he had been beaten. Taking this as the worst case scenario they looked at each other as they all shared a thought. If Shisui did survive he no doubt has more loyality to the Uchiha clan which was bad news for them, Itachi had not been crucial to their plan of eliminating the Uchiha before but after he seemingly volunteered all plans had centred on his success. Negotiation with Fugaku at this point would be nothing but futile as even before his demands were far too great for them to be taken seriously. Surely if not his drive to maintain his clan's position didn't move him towards fighting, the fury at losing his son would do so instead, this was truly the worst case scenario.

"It looks to me that Itachi has failed" Danzo spoke

"Surely not there must be another explanation" Homura commented

"Indeed Itachi couldn't have failed" Koharu added

"Although I would like to hope for the best I have to side with Danzo on this, we must now prepare for the worst case scenario. Which would be Itachi was killed and the Uchiha clan is now aware of our attempt to wipe them out" Hiruzen replied

"Then in which case they might speed up their rebellion and if they are really planning a coup d'état then we will be weakened to the point where the other great ninja villages will try capitalize on this and would bring about the destruction of Konoha." Danzo said

"I see we have one choice of action, Garrison the-" Hokage was about to say until interrupted by Shunshin. Before he could demand what the meaning of this, he noticed his ninja bleeding and clutching his left shoulder.

"Lord Hokage it's the Uchiha they've reb-" he couldn't finish

"I see Garrison the troops, let's do what Itachi failed to do. Exterminate the Uchiha." Hokage said firmly he would defend his village.

Happiness, seemed to have revolved around her all her life. Her parents weren't too nice, weren't too strict but nonetheless allowed her freedom and flexibility whilst providing a gentle hand into modelling her into what they wanted her to be. They wanted her to be happy, I mean who wouldn't want that for their children? To allow the gentleness of her spirit to flow while she was still a child, because in this world even the most innocent can be turned into monsters.

Emotions flew through her Panic, fear and fright, at this point she could try say she was frightened but if you were a 7 year old girl how could you be anything but with all the chaos that was erupting around the village. Complete and utter chaos reigned as everyone ran for their lives, pushing, shoving no care was given for fellow human beings as long as their survival was ensured. There she was curled in a ball in an alley hoping she would live to see another day, something no child should have to experience. At this point she might not have understood but the worst part of this experiencing was not understanding why it was happening.

"Hey little one, for what it's worth I'm sorry" the man uttered his red eyes piercing the dark alley. He walked toward her shaking even harder than she was as he could barely grip his own kunai, with each step he felt the world add more and more pressure upon his shoulders. He grabbed her hair as she started squirming in his grip.

"May god have mercy on our souls" with that hit slit her throat allowed her to leave the world quickly.

That little girl was the first victim of the coup, that little girl might not even be the last. Whether the Uchiha won at this point didn't matter, would they be able to look themselves in the eye afterwards however?

She was the first victim of not just a coup but of also war!

Pairing hasn't been decided so please add a character you would like to see.


	2. Chapter 2

**4 years later – Naruto Age 12**

* * *

><p>The sun glistened high up in the sky outlining the features of happy children running around. It was fascinating to see how oblivious the younger generation could be unaware of the impact and the burden that their parents carried. To live carefree still provoking that sense of wonder and belief in yourself that… that was being truly free. Many envied that, however many also hated it, watching joyful faces threaten to split open only to remember their on family, sons, daughters, mothers, fathers that had all be stripped away.<p>

He himself had found new depth to his character, walking on a fine line between good and evil, but that all depended on perception right? Training to perfect the art of killing was wrong right? Again it depended on perception to others it could be inhumane and cruel but to some it could be necessity allowing them to continue living longer.

4 years ago the Uchiha clan did a coup effectively breaking their bond with the village, one could understand why they did. Years of being neglected had made them grow cold, after the Kyuubi attack they too had suffered loss but the people had the nerve to accuse them of being a part of it. Yes, the Uchiha clan started to feel resented and unwanted and due to the mindset they had always considering themselves to be elite it really drove them crazy. To reclaim their position in the village was the original goal but somehow it twisted through anger into owning the village, who better to run the village that elites?

All that matter now is that it had happened and the Uchiha was the side that lost with only two members of the clan remaining alive how could it be called anything but a defeat? Not that the other side could claim victory as well, it was truly a loss for both side. Konoha had not only lost a prominent clan but they also lost a great deal of their armed forces and even civilians.

Now even though the Uchiha claimed to be elite there was no way their coupe was going to succeed when considering how small in number they were compared to how many ninja Konoha had in total you would think that they would be so capable in creating too much devastation however they did just that due to 2 elements, surprise, and will.

Surprise was a key element as it meant that no one was prepared to stop them, a lot of Ninja and a lot of civilians were taken out before they knew what was going on. While civilians weren't specifically targeted as a result they were still slaughtered it was a horrific experience for all, there was no other word for it but simply horrific. Most of these deaths were caused by failure to organize evacuation in such short notice for these civilians.

However this wasn't the worst thing a new threat had just now made itself known Kumo, Iwa had swiftly ended their non-aggression pact and it had become obvious that they had begun building up their armies. All the signs now pointed to the Fourth Great Shinobi war and everyone in Konoha was wondering if they would survive this time, could they be truly ready for what was too come.

Though the Hokage could feel the war mounting he refused to bring back war time teachings, under great stress from Danzo who thought it was to be done. However the Old man simply responded by saying that they should cherish the little semblance of peace they have now, and when war came pray they were ready to face it which while he knew was the wrong move, he had to at least hope… didn't he?

* * *

><p>All the younger generation seemed to be oblivious to the state of the world around them, however there was one. One who could sense the danger behind his façade there he was training but if there was one thing in this world he would do was that he would ensure his survival. To him it seemed like self-preservation was going to be the key factor driving this war, as Kumo and Iwa would most likely think that ending Konoha would be crucial to their survival after all it was Human nature and he himself was being driven by the same thing self-preservation<p>

"Hokage-sama first match has been lit" Anbu spoke evenly

"Already? Very well I shouldn't have underestimated our enemies" he replied knowing full well what that code meant. The first blow had been struck the Fourth Great War had begun.

"Orders?" came the swift reply

"Put the village in a state of emergency, start initiating war protocol. Switch the Academy curriculum even for this graduating year. They will have as much information as possible before they graduate, Also get me Council member Danzo his little unit is now effectively under my service. Re-instate the war time Hawk eye squad, we will need their scouting abilities. Get a message sent out to Jiraya immediately I want to see him and" he paused for a second, was it time? Yes definitely she had enough time already "Send a message to Tsunade as well she is officially being recalled to the village, if she resists she will be listed as a missing-nin and will be dealt with accordingly." He finished, exhaling smoke as he sighs deeply, this was war and the old Sarutobi was not messing around.

* * *

><p>They could tell the village was frantic they may have been little but even they could notice that not all was right as they each took their seat in their classroom.<p>

"Move out the way Piggy" exclaimed the Pink haired girl as she tried to force her way through the door

"Maybe if you're forehead wasn't so big we would be able to get through" this normally would incite some snickers but with the current mood no one reacted at all. It seemed the two girls were the only ones unaffected, still so carefree.

"I'll sit next to Sasuke!" Ino roared

"Like hell you will" came the reply from Sakura. Their heads snapped to the door as they were presented with a loud bang!

"Shut the fuck up!" came the voice of an imposing figure, slashes, cuts and burn marks were seen running along his face. Silence took hold of the classroom, the girls darted to their seats wondering what was going on.

"As of now I will be your teacher, I am Ibiki and only Ibiki you will not call me any nicknames, you will not add anything to my name barring sensei." He spoke

"E-Excuse me Ibiki-sa, Ibiki-sensei" changing the way she said his name after suffering under his glare "What happened to Iruka-sensei" she finished

"Never interrupt me again, if you hadn't you would find all your questions would have been answered" he said slightly raising his voice.

"From this day forth I shall be your sensei, you will not learn under Iruka any longer until he has been re-educated in the type of teaching this time has ushered us in, For those of you that don't know which would be most I presume. Its war time ladies and gentlemen which basically means the fun time you had before, the laughter the joy you experienced. Forget about it, it's time to stop fucking around, some of you are going to have to grow up faster than you would have before, this world is cruel, it is harsh, and personally I'm betting half this room dies, However do not look grim this may be the world we live in now but your attitudes will shape your future, look strong, feel proud and carry the will of fire." He said

This put a lot of students into panic, some tried to stay calm but found it hard. The concept of war seemed so strange, everything was so surreal at this point.

"Now onto the curriculum, how was the Valley of End formed?" he asked

Feeling particularly smart for knowing the answers a pink haired girl raised her hand hoping to impress her sensei.

"Yes you!" he said pointed to the girl

"It is said that the valley of the end was formed whe-"she started

"Wrong!" he shouted causing her mouth to gape he didn't even let her finish. "It does not fucking matter, when you are here you are going to learn how to be a Shinobi. If you want to focus on book smarts you can do that in your own time or better yet go join civilian school, don't get me wrong knowledge is important but what I am going to instil in your young minds is the specific knowledge that will allow you to survive as a ninja. No doubt some of you will quit, some of you will find it tough but if you trust in me and listen to what I say then I promise I will give you the best shot at survival you've got!" he said pausing for great effect, he needed each and every word he uttered to worm it's way into their skulls.

"Now no matter how hard I try there is nothing that will change the fact that you guys are at a disadvantage, for 3 whole years we were weakened and the enemy has been training their forces in order to crush us. Then added to the fact that you guys only have 1 month get into shape before you graduate I by myself cannot bring you up to the level you are going to need to be at in order to survive because if you really want to survive you must help me. If you truly want to survive you must help me help you for your chances of survival are already slim. First thing is first I'm going to evaluate you all".

He gestured them to follow him and most did without uttering a sound still trying to process what he had said, it didn't seem like this could be real. Some expectantly waited for themselves to jolt out of bed and have their mother still preparing breakfast. However no matter how hard they tried to fight it they undoubtable knew that this was real, war was here and it planned on staying. Lost in their thoughts they never even seemed to notice arriving at the training ground.

"Okay" he said simply as he pulled out a clipboard and read from a list of names. "Hinata Hyuuga you will fight Shikamaru this will be a taijutsu spar so no jutsu."

"But sensei girl's only fight girls" Sakura interrupted Iruka had previously set up that girls would only fight girls and boys only fight boys

"You think an enemy ninja won't fight you because you are a girl? That he will leave you and focus on other male combatants first. Get real and you may also notice that Shikamaru is at a disadvantage he can't use his family jutsu but Hinata can use her family style as it is considered taijutsu. This is your first lesson and it is simple… Life isn't fair" he spoke with a hint of sadness it could be seen in his eyes, he had suffered before but as quick as it appeared it disappeared.

With that Shikamaru and Hinata got into their positions both ready to face off, but there was something else in the air.

"Ibiki-sensei I quit" Shikamaru said this got gasps from everyone else why would he do that

"Excellent decision, Life isn't fair it is what we make of it, if you have a choice not to fight a battle that you will lose... Don't fight it. This is my test it's not just a taijutsu test to see how you are fair against others in taijutsu but a test to see your decisions in ensuring you survival. 'Bet he was just too lazy to fight' thought most of the aspiring genin

"Thank you Ibiki" Shikamru replied

"That being said your punishment is 100 push ups, that fight you so quickly chose to back out of could have been a battle to save your village, giving up may lead to your own death but worse yet the death of your comrades." Ibiki responded curtly shocking Shikimaru to his core.

"Moving on Naruto Uzumaki and Kiba Inuzuka" he said before quickly looking at the pink haired girl, he saw that look in her face "What is it now?" he asked

"A-Ano Naruto-san h-hasn't participated in any academy act-activities since we started" the Hyuuga interjected.

"Nartuo Uzumaki and Kiba Inuzuka, fight." Ibiki said calmly completely disregarding everything she said. 'He will fight, otherwise he will learn what happens to those who do not follow orders'. All eyes swiftly turned to the blond he had always been like this so impassive and not really caring about the world around him.

'I guess it's time' he thought to himself as he slowly got up standing in front of Kiba getting into his stance.

"Good brat… Hajime" Ibiki said effectively starting the fight

Without hesitation Naruto took the start of a step before he kicked off, propelling himself with immense speed at kiba he closes the distance as his leg snaps quickly in a sweeping motion taking on leg out and leaving Kiba body to follow.

Instinctually Kiba's hands flew to the ground to brace for impact, animal insticts taking over momentarily forgetting the pain he could feeling near his shin. He was on all fours snarling before he pushed himself up and sent a claw strike at Naruto's face. Naruto shifted his shoulder and turned his body so it would absorb most of the damage, the pain stunned him for a second. Kiba quickly unleashed his second strike as he landed a swift leg sent to Naruto's abdomen.

Naruto let it hit before trapping Kiba's leg with his arm using the elbow of his other arm he brought it down swiftly onto Kiba's leg. A sickening crack was heard but it was no time to stop, he saw a small whimper and a tear in the face of his opponent but he wasn't done. Sending a palm strike directly into his body but soon 1 strike turned into 2 and 2 turned into 20 his hands become a flurry, it was nothing short of devastating. His body started effectively aligning itself with each strike, slowly progressing, slowly syncing each movement together, combining all energy in the centre of his core, finally a totally complete and last single strike was sent at Kiba's face before stopping abruptly an inch in front of Kiba's face, it was performed with such grace and fluidity that even on lookers yearned for it to hit, a look of slight disappointment was evident on his face as Kiba gentle fell back onto the ground.

Everyone looked at him shocked his first taijutsu fight and he had completely dominated and with such brutality. Some had even vomited when they had heard the crunch in Kiba's leg.

"Why did you go so far boy" Ibiki asked simply staring directly into the boys eyes and judging him.

"Because its war, the time for fucking around is over" he replied. Seconds passed before finally the older ninja broke out into laughter he was not expecting that at all.

"Let's make this the second lesson in War you will find people like this boy, they will not spare you, they will not show you mercy. They will simply end you it is sad to say but you must abandon your emotions or at least hide them away, because if you don't they will be ripped from you, Now with that being said Naruto do 300 push ups. War is indeed here but to do that to one of you comrades in a little spar is cruel" He finished

"The time for fucking around is over huh? hahahha, I guess you're right, I guess you're right. Mind me asking what style that was" Ibiki said.

"It something that I am in the process of creating as such it hasn't been named but the point of it is to deal as much damage as possible in the shortest of time although that is only to lower your opponents guard, you see when there is time and equal preparation the true beauty of the art comes alive. One perfect blow to allow your opponent the perfect death, all it takes is just one strike" he said simply while doing his push ups.

"I see" Ibiki said as suddenly something clicked to Ibiki the boy had stopped one of his strikes at the end of the match, is this what he was referring too, the perfect strike to end someone's life?

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flash Back<strong>_

Waters embrace quickly swallowed him, it wasn't overwhelming as a matter affect though he gently floated surrounded by water at all sides, he wasn't drowning, he wasn't panicking, he was just relaxing. It was almost as if he could stay there forever, but this trip had a purpose and it wasn't time to get too comfortable.

As if in sync with his thoughts the water started draining, ever so slowly in the beginning however with each passing moment the speed in which it was draining increased, quicker and quicker and quicker until eventually he plopped onto his feet.

Slowly he looked at his new surroundings, in front of him stood a giant cell, this is where his journey had lead him, this is where had expected it to lead him, a journey into his mind. A visit to the famous Kyuubi, the nine tailed fox

"**The time that Madara predicted" **it slowly muttered to itself

"What time? Are you going to address me" he asked a quick succession of questions

"**Ah it seems every little piece is falling into accordance, mortal, mortal, mortal, how to best deal with you…." **Seconds flew by but Naruto did not wish to interrupt he knew the creature was thinking.

"**I suppose there is nothing better than the truth, Madara Uchiha was a beast of a man one who could fight me in battle and win, which in itself is not a small feat but inherently he had an advantage**" it said

"Are you referring to the sharigans ability to control you?" Naruto replied curtly

" **Yes my boy but that is not pure coincidence, and though I am afraid to put you in this positon, there is a few things you must know, it will all be told to you at some point but for now all you need to realise is that you are crucial in the plan of Madara Uchiha and as such we cannot let that happen but alas with me inside you, you will always be able to succumb to his power, however time is short and there is a thing you must do"**

"How exactly do I fall into his plan" Naruto interjected

"**There is no time to explain, trust in me, and if you cannot trust in the fact that I do not ever want to be controlled again, and you and me are going to be paired for life, not even death can separate us at this point. The Sharigan is the Original creator of Bijuu contrary to popular belief, however alas like I said titme is short, the time Madara predicted has come the Uchiha massacre is about to take place, as I look through your eyes, feel all with your senses, even I can tell that the air is thin and the presuppose for the coupé has come which in turn means his return is close, you must be ready, I alone can boalster your strength to match that of his"** it said pausing leaving room for questions

"How can you do that" he replied at this point having nothing to lose, he would not be used by anyone.

"**As the dark clan is slaughtered I need you to collect their eyes, 6 pairs of eyes are needed, and this will be the catalyst for your change" **it finished

"I see, let's get to it then Kyuubi-san" Naruto replied.

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><p>That's a wrap<p> 


End file.
